Between Nostalgia and New Horizons: How Young Europeans Imagine and Shape the Future

On behalf of Allianz Foundation, SINUS-Institut conducted a representative survey of 8,508 teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 39 in the five largest EU countries (Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and Spain) in the summer of 2025. The survey is part of the Allianz Foundation Next Generations Study, a series of European studies that provides ongoing insights into young people's visions of the future, political attitudes, and civic engagement.

The results show that Europe's young generation is politically heterogeneous and cannot be reduced to a single ideological camp. While a majority advocates for profound social and ecological change, a significant minority longs for a return to a supposedly “better” past. These tensions between willingness to transform and political backlash characterize the second Allianz Foundation Next Generations Study.

A newly developed, validated backlash barometer was used to empirically measure political nostalgia and radical attitudes. The instrument was developed by SINUS in collaboration with Allianz Foundation, in cooperation with Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) and with methodological support from GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. It provides action-relevant data for civil society and politics in Europe.

Despite the risk of backlash, the overall picture remains clear: the overwhelming majority of young Europeans reject radical positions and are committed to fundamental democratic values such as non-violence, the rule of law, and civilized political discourse. A key expression of this democratic resilience is broad civil society engagement. Nearly all young people (97%) have engaged in at least one form of social participation—most commonly through voting, changing consumption habits, or donating money. Collective and more institutionalized forms of engagement, such as protests, NGO work, or party political support, reach smaller but relevant groups.